Mercury-Atlas 3

Mercury-Atlas 3
	Launch of MA-3
Mission type	Test flight
Operator	NASA
Mission duration	7 minutes, 19 seconds; Failed to orbit
Distance travelled	1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi)
Apogee	7.2 kilometres (4.5 mi)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Mercury No.8
Manufacturer	McDonnell Aircraft
Launch mass	1,179 kilograms (2,599 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	April 25, 1961, 16:15 UTC
Rocket	Atlas LV-3B 100-D
Launch site	Cape Canaveral LC-14
End of mission
Landing date	April 25, 1961, 16:23 UTC
	Project Mercury; Mercury-Atlas series ← Mercury-Atlas 2 Mercury-Atlas 4 →

Mercury-Atlas 3 (MA-3) was an unmanned spaceflight of the Mercury program. It was launched unmanned on April 25, 1961 at 16:15 UTC, from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Mercury capsule contained a robotic "mechanical astronaut". Mercury spacecraft No. 8 and Atlas No. 8 100-D were used in the mission.^[1]

^ Loyd S. Swenson Jr.; James M. Grimwood; Charles C. Alexander (1966). "10". This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury - NASA SP-4201. NASA Special Publication-4201 in the NASA History Series. p. 9. Archived from the original on 2009-04-07. Retrieved 26 June 2013.

[1] Loyd S. Swenson Jr.; James M. Grimwood; Charles C. Alexander (1966). "10". This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury - NASA SP-4201. NASA Special Publication-4201 in the NASA History Series. p. 9. Archived from the original on 2009-04-07. Retrieved 26 June 2013.

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